The 5 Best Gigantic Monster Movies of the Decade

The 5 Best Gigantic Monster Movies of the Decade

Japanese cinema has a genre of film they refer to as “kaiju.” The most famous example of kaiju to American audiences by far has always been Godzilla, though it wasn’t until Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim that the term itself became mainstream among audiences in the United States. Godzilla made his feature debut in Japan in 1954 and a heavily recut version of the film hit American cinemas in 1956. America’s love for colossal monsters in film does not begin there, however. KingKong captured the imaginations of early filmgoers more than two decades prior in 1933 with his own debut film where the stop-motion beast “starred” alongside his human counterpart, Fay Wray. In the ensuing years, our collective fascination with these gargantuan purveyors of destruction has not subsided.

KingKong and Godzilla have both experienced relatively stable amounts of popularity since they were first seen by audiences. They have each been rebooted several times. As the tectonic shift in cinema that is the marvel of digital filmmaking, the two monsters have grown, as have a great many competitors. Along with the aforementioned del Toro, the talented likes of Peter Jackson, JJ Abrams, Gareth Edwards, Matt Reeves, Jordan Vogt-Roberts and more have gotten in on the fun of crafting a story around these hulking, gigantic—but not always antagonistic—beasts of yore. Here are the best giant monster movies of the decade.

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